Sony more than doubles net loss forecast for March to US$6.4 bil.

TOKYO -- Japan's Sony on Tuesday said it would book a net loss of about US$6.4 billion in the year to March, more than double its previous forecast amid sweeping changes at the struggling electronics giant.

The company said it would lose 520 billion yen (US$6.4 billion) after earlier saying it would see a shortfall of about 220 billion yen, its fourth consecutive year in the red.

Sony's earlier net loss forecast was itself more than twice as much as the 90 billion yen loss it had predicted it would lose before upping the figure in February.

The company said the latest increase in its loss forecast was mainly due to a tax charge tied to its assets in the United States, but it did not elaborate.

“In the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, we will book an additional tax cost of about 300 billion yen ... for a deferred income tax asset in the United States,” Sony said in a statement.